Introduction
Any business would want to build a competitive advantage by any means available to maximize revenue. Smart marketing campaigns can provide both short- and long-term benefits to a company that aims to become a successful and lasting business, especially in markets that are highly saturated and easy to enter. Marketing provides a meaningful way to optimize a business plan of a company by narrowing down the target audience, enabling it to reach it with ease, and attracting new customers. Moreover, an adequate company management team can provide an insight into future market fluctuations based on the data of current trends. This type of opportunity can allow a company to secure its place in an emerging market.
A company could have the potential to gain an advantage on the market, yet without a refined marketing plan, it might not be able to present that advantage compellingly. Marketing does not only increase sales by reaching a broader audience but also ensures that a company has the intel on various crucial aspects of the market it operates in. The role of a marketing department is to generate a strategy for a business that would include the most efficient way to increase revenue.
Market Segmentation
Market segmentation is the task of narrowing down and defining the target audience of a company. Through segmentation, a business can gain an in-depth understanding of its customer base, find out their characteristics and personalities, and optimize its marketing plan to cater to their views. Market segmentation is especially important for marketers because it allows them to personalize advertising and keep it cheap. This method also reduces the risk of failed campaigns, as it gives information on how to attract more customers. It also informs a company how to save money that would have been wasted on advertising to people who have no interest in the product.
Such marketing campaigns convey clear and efficient messages that attract customers who provide the most value to a company and lead to higher revenues. Four types of market segmentation are regularly used by advertisers: psychographic, demographic, geographic, and behavioral. The right combination of these types is vital to a successful marketing campaign; therefore, it is essential to analyze the target audience before launching it. Market segmentation is an especially crucial concept for small businesses, as bigger businesses have larger audiences with more differentiated opinions, behaviors, preferences, and needs.
Marketing mix
The marketing mix is a method of introducing a new product to the market. Philip Kotler, in his book “Marketing Management,” describes it as a “set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market.” By his definition, this mix includes the product, price, place, and promotion. These elements are interdependent, and their understanding and proper utilization during a marketing campaign are essential to its success.
These four parts of the marketing plan are defined by the right strategies in each given field, which include:
- The product must be sought out by the target audience, who also must be analyzed and understood, for example, through market segmentation.
- The price must reflect the quality of the product, be affordable for the target audience, bring profits to the company, and allow it to remain competitive.
- The location at which the company sells its product must be convenient for the target audience while remaining affordable and realistic to the scale of the company.
- Product promotions must be conducted through the most efficient sources determined by marketers and address the motivation of the target audience to purchase the product.
There are multiple expanded versions of this marketing mix, but these elements remain the essential foundation for any marketing campaign.
Branding and integrated marketing communication
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is a set of strategies that aim to connect all forms of communication between a company and its customers, both current and potential. The concept is simple: all parts of a company must conduct the same message, therefore it is crucial to plan and come up with a consistent message. This strategy is already included in marketing mix tools, yet IMC is a set of tools in itself. The integration of data on all levels must stay identical and homogenous. The right strategy can help a company to gain a competitive advantage and attract a vast amount of positive attention. A business that has a good reputation and associates itself with a positive image is more likely to start a successful brand.
In modern society, companies need to understand that customer-business communication no longer favors one side, especially in e-commerce. The current approach inclines toward direct contact through social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Carefully integrated promotions in dialogues with customers can successfully bring attention to a company. By nurturing relationships with its customers, a business guarantees its long-term competitive viability on the market.
Measurement of marketing success
To define the success of a marketing campaign, it is crucial to understand the influence it had on a brand image, product awareness, return on investments, and other vital factors. There is a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that would help a business to analyze the effectiveness of advertising efforts. It includes sales that were generated from leads, growth of website traffic, the number of new unique customers, and the difference of generated revenue and profit between the non-advertising period and during the marketing campaign. A company must also consider cost per each opportunity created and lead followed to be mindful of spendings on advertisements.
In the digital age, any company can gather statistics through its website and social media pages. However, this data must be adequately analyzed to show a clear picture. Each marketing campaign has its specific purpose that should be defined before its launch, and KPIs must be set during the design phase. While the analysis must include a comparison with past performance, its focus must be on future perspectives. A company must understand what parts of it must be upgraded to increase revenue.
References
OPEN MINDS. (2017). Marketing Your Organization To Gain Competitive Advantage. Web.
Parasuraman, A. Reflections on gaining competitive advantage through customer value. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 25, 154 (1997). Web.